☾☀︎︎☽❤︎ 𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚗𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚜 ꧂☕︎︎✍︎︎❦
Marilyn March is the middle sister of the March family. Everyone likes her, but often forgotten as most middle children are. When she meets Laurie, she automatically loves him. But no one really gets a happy endin...
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"This is preposterous." I hear Auny March yell. I flip onto my other side, "Shhhh. 5 more minutes." "You won't get 5 more minutes when you're sleeping on my floor." Aunt March shouts. I sigh and look around, "You know what? The floor wasn't even that comfortable." I get off the carpeted floor. I fix my nightgown. Amy walks downstairs already dressed. She sees Aunt March looking at me, disdainfully. "What did you do?" Amy asks. "I must've fallen asleep on the stairs," I see James and John snickering above me, "and NO ONE woke me." "Go get dressed." Aunt March orders. "Well, that is preposterous!" I exclaim, imitating aunt March. "It's times like these where I understand why you're still single." Aunt March huffs. I scoff with a laugh, "Okay, Aunt March. It's times like these where I realize that you're cranky in the morning." She rolls her eyes, "Go get dressed." "Yeah, okay." I agree. ——————— "Laurie!" I jump on him. He groans and then laughs, "Really?" "Yes, we have to get up." I saw while I'm still on top of him. He pets my head as I lay on him, "Why do we have to get up?" I get off of him and go to my wardrobe, "Well, you're making up with Amy today and I'm going to find something to do." "Do you think she's gonna even look at me?" He questions. "No, so good luck with that." I shrug. He gets up and stretches, "Thanks." "The floor hurts your back, right?" I laugh, "My back has so many kinks." He looks at me confused as he puts his socks on, "Why were you sleeping on the floor?" "I fell asleep on my way back to my room late at night." I shrug. "Aunt March was screaming at me to get up." "I bet." Laurie laughs. "I'll see you in a bit." I tell him. He smiles and comes over to me. He hugs me from behind, which causes my head to snap up. He kisses my cheek and lets go of my waist, "I'll see you at dinner." He walks out of the room as I'm left there in shock. What the hell just happened? Yeah, Laurie's kissed my cheek so many times, but.. not like that. Did something happen last night that I don't remember? I don't think he would ever just do that unless something happened. I need to stop getting black out drunk. ——————— "James!" I yell as I see him passing my room. He looks over and comes into my room, "Yes, darling?" "Did anything weird happen last night?" I ask him as he sits on my bed. He raises a eyebrow, "Do you not remember anything from last night?" I quickly shake my head, "No, I remember some things. It's just today when I woke up Laurie, he kissed me, as if we were more than friends. So I was wondering if something happened last night?" James' face twists from confused to mad, "No, I don't remember anything like that from last night." I nod, slightly convinced," Okay, just making sure." James nods and struts out of the room in a uncharacteristic manner. I scratch my head and try to rack my brain to remember what happened last night. I was talking to Laurie and I fell asleep. I woke up and needed to vomit, so I ran to the bathroom. When I got out of the bathroom, I went downstairs and drank to fall asleep. Wait.. I was talking to someone before I left but who? Why does drinking make me so forgetful? ——————— Third person POV Mary peaks into the drawing room to see Amy is looking through her own paintings and sketches and has a disturbed expression on her face. Mary smiles over to Laurie. Laurie shakes his head. His lot in life is always to be apologizing to one March sister or another. Mary gives him a look and Laurie concedes. He would do anything for the woman he loves. "Hello Amy!" Laurie enters the room. Amy doesn't turn around, "I don't want to see you." "Oh, Amy I'm so sorry for how I behaved. Please? Forgive me?" Laurie begs. Amy still doesn't turn, "Have you been drinking again?" "Only a little. It's 4pm. You can't be too hard on me." Laurie tells her. Amy scoffs, "Someone has too." Mary looks down, still out of view from Amy. Should she be more worried about Laurie? She used to always care, but three years later, and she doesn't even notice his drinking habits. "So when do you begin your great work of art, Raphaella?" Laurie questions Amy. Amy turns towards him and shakes her head, "Never." He sees Amy's face, the ashen worry traced on it. Mary sighs, quietly. Should she be worried about her sister too? It seems as though being independent this year has made her more selfish. A quality she never used to have when she was younger. "What - why?" Laurie asks. "I'm a failure. Jo is in New York, being a writer, and I am a failure." Amy says, grimly. Laurie raises a eyebrow, "That's quite a statement to make at twenty." "Rome took all the vanity out of me. And Paris made me realize I'd never be a genius. I'm giving up all my foolish artistic hopes." Amy tells him. "Why should you? You have so much talent and energy." Laurie shrugs. Amy explains, "Talent isn't genius, and no amount of energy can make it so. I want to be great, or nothing. I won't be a common-place dauber, so I don't intend to try anymore." Laurie watches her and then says conspiratorially, "What women are allowed into the club of geniuses anyway?" Amy takes a guess, "The Brontes?" "That's it?" Laurie questions. "I think so." Amy shrugs. Laurie quizzes her, "And who always declares genius?" "Well, men, I suppose." Amy sighs. Laurie nods, "They're cutting down the competition." "That's a very complicated argument to make me feel better." Amy informs. "Do you though? Feel better?" "I do think that male or female, I'm a middling talent." Amy smiles. "Middling talent? Then may I ask your last portrait be of me?" Laurie asks. Amy laughs, "All right." Laurie walks around her drawing room,"Now that you've given up all your foolish artistic hopes, what are you going to do with your life?" "Polish up my other talents and be an ornament to society." Amy declares. "I suppose that's where Fred Vaughn comes in." Laurie comments. Amy's eyes widen. Mary intently listens to her response. What Laurie didn't know is that John and Amy have something while Amy is going with Fred. "Well, I- uhm- possibly." Amy stammers. "Then I assume you're not engaged yet?" Laurie implores. Amy takes a second to respond, "No." "But you will be if he goes down properly on one knee?" Laurie inquiries. "Most likely, yes." Amy nods and then offers a reason, "He's rich, richer than you, even." Laurie looks back at the door where Mary is hidden, "I understand queens of society can't get on without money. But it does sound odd coming from one of your mother's girls." Laurie ponders the thought if money is the reason why Mary didn't accept his first marriage proposal. Mary peaks around the corner and looks at Laurie. He looks like he's in deep thought, almost sad. Amy looks away from Laurie, "I've always known that I was going to marry rich. Why should I be ashamed of that?" "There is nothing to be ashamed about, as long as you love him." Laurie acknowledges. "Well, I believe we have some power over who we love, it isn't something that just happens to a person." Amy tells him. Laurie turns and looks at the place Mary is hiding again, "I think the poets would disagree." "Well. I'm not a poet, I'm just a woman. And as a woman I have no way to make money, not enough to earn a living and support my family. Even if I had my own money, which I don't, it would belong to my husband the minute we were married." Amy begins. Laurie stays quiet. Amy is taking some points her sister made when talking to James. Amy tries to make Laurie understand the different roles she has to play in society. She tries to explain why she can't live free like Jo or with love like Meg. Why she and Mary have to uphold the family. Amy stares intently at Laurie, "If we had children they would belong to him, not me. They would be his property. So don't sit there and tell me that marriage isn't an economic proposition, because it is. It may not be for you but it most certainly is for me and Mary. Why do you think she didn't say yes in the first place?" Mary looks out of the window as she hears a carriage. She quickly goes around another corner as Amy runs out to Fred. Mary goes back and sees the drawing room empty. No Laurie insight. ———————— "Did you propose to her?" Mary hears as she walks towards the library. It peaks her interest. She eavesdrops on another conversation in this house. After the last one, Laurie quickly acted like it never happened and Mary was okay with that, trying to avoid a uncomfortable conversation. "Did you?" She hears Laurie's voice. "Obviously, I did." She hears James' voice. "Well, I did too." Laurie tells him, "Did she say yes?" "I thought she did." James sighs, "I was talking to her the other day. She doesn't remember anything that happened that night." Mary eyes widen as she realizes they're talking about her. They asked her to marry them again? She's been in the same love triangle for about 4 years and she's tired. She misses who she was before this. When she was with her sisters and all that mattered was trying not to scorch her dress. "So she doesn't remember either of us proposing?" Laurie questions him. "We are basically at the same state we were at before I asked her to marry me." James confesses. "Do you even love her?" Laurie questions. "What a inappropriate question to ask." James scoffs. Laurie shakes her head, "Are you only going to marry her because her aunt's fortune is going to her?" Mary snaps her hand to her mouth. A fortune going to her? And why would James care? "In case you forgot, I'm rich." James informs. Laurie tilts his head, "Yes, off of your grandfather's fortune. Which means it gets passed down to your dad when your grandfather passes and then it gets passed down to you." "Exactly, in no time, I will be richer than her and you." James shrugs. "Well, I did some digging. You have older brothers, yes? Much older and all of your fathers fortune will be passed amongst each of you, so yes, you will still be comfortable. But I don't think it will be richer than me and Mary." Laurie smirks. Mary hears something knock over as if someone pushed another. She also hears punch thrown and that's when she steps in. She walks into the room to see James on top of Laurie. "James, stop! Get off!" Mary runs over to Laurie. James gets off of him, "I'm sorry for my behavior. If you excuse me," James leaves in a rushed pace, trying to avoid the question of why he did that. But Mary already knows. She helps Laurie up. "Are you okay?" She asks. Laurie wipes the blood from his lip, "Yes, I am. Would you like to go to the garden tomorrow?" Mary tilts her head, confused, "I suppose." Laurie, promptly, walks out. Mary is a bit shocked. How did the two boys know she would inherit the money? What about Amy or Jo? What about Meg and Beth? And finding out this information begs the question, did James really love her or only wanted her for her money? Same with Laurie. Does he love her? ——————— I believe that there will be three more chapters and then.. well.. we say goodbye.
